Gatorade pays the NFL like $61,000,000 a year for the rights to be the official sports drink of the league. Of that $61m, 60% goes to the players and is distributed amongst the players.

$36,600,000 to the players, on average that's over $20k per player. While that might not be a lot to Urlacher who is getting six, maybe seven, figures from Vitamin Water that is a big deal to the players who can't get endorsement deals like that.

Essentially if anything Urlacher was screwing over his teammates and fellow players.

That BASTARD! DEATH TO URLACHER!

*For the record I'm not a Packers fan*

__________________Magical sig by OSUGiants

SSAEL....... its a new revolution!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Job

On another note, Nicklas Backstrom is amazingly good.

Quote:

Meanwhile, in hockey the other night, the Washington Capitals' Eric Belanger gets hit with a stick, loses EIGHT teeth, has an instant root canal in the locker room, comes back out and PLAYS and never says boo.

So new rule, NBA: Unless you have a root canal at halftime, SHUT UP AND PLAY!

Thanks for the info, iGAME, but I don't think it has any legitimate impact. Gatorade is paying to keep other sponsors out of the market. Vitamin Water found a way around, and it was essentially fair game. Urlacher wearing a Vitamin Water hat doesn't affect anyone else. Gatorade isn't going to pull its sponsorship or lessen its contribution. All of the players are getting their money, and they will continue to get more. This is a tiny blip.

All in all, Gatorade is the industry leader, and it will continue to be as long as it markets itself well. Vitamin Water has zero chance of overtaking Gatorade in the next 15 years. This really means nothing. The fact that it's a huge deal to the NFL just helps out Vitamin Water and doesn't hurt anyone else, except maybe Gatorade a little.

Thanks for the info, iGAME, but I don't think it has any legitimate impact. Gatorade is paying to keep other sponsors out of the market. Vitamin Water found a way around, and it was essentially fair game. Urlacher wearing a Vitamin Water hat doesn't affect anyone else. Gatorade isn't going to pull its sponsorship or lessen its contribution. All of the players are getting their money, and they will continue to get more. This is a tiny blip.

All in all, Gatorade is the industry leader, and it will continue to be as long as it markets itself well. Vitamin Water has zero chance of overtaking Gatorade in the next 15 years. This really means nothing. The fact that it's a huge deal to the NFL just helps out Vitamin Water and doesn't hurt anyone else, except maybe Gatorade a little.

*Roots for the underdog like a typical American*

__________________Magical sig by OSUGiants

SSAEL....... its a new revolution!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Job

On another note, Nicklas Backstrom is amazingly good.

Quote:

Meanwhile, in hockey the other night, the Washington Capitals' Eric Belanger gets hit with a stick, loses EIGHT teeth, has an instant root canal in the locker room, comes back out and PLAYS and never says boo.

So new rule, NBA: Unless you have a root canal at halftime, SHUT UP AND PLAY!

As a former owner of a marketing and advertising company I know these companies value their dollars, they put together strategic plans on how to spend money, how much to spend, etc. They want to make sure they're getting their money's worth and are getting exactly what they're supposed to get.

As a consumer, which Gatorade is with the NFL, would you be happy if you paid plasma screen prices for an old non-flat tube TV?

This whole incident essentially means nothing, other than Vitamin Water guaranteed itself some solid publicity for the next week or so. Also, I assume that the NFL will not forget this incident, so there will be a bunch of barriers if they would ever seek to become the NFL's sponsor. I don't even consider it news.

Thanks for the info, iGAME, but I don't think it has any legitimate impact. Gatorade is paying to keep other sponsors out of the market. Vitamin Water found a way around, and it was essentially fair game. Urlacher wearing a Vitamin Water hat doesn't affect anyone else. Gatorade isn't going to pull its sponsorship or lessen its contribution. All of the players are getting their money, and they will continue to get more. This is a tiny blip.

All in all, Gatorade is the industry leader, and it will continue to be as long as it markets itself well. Vitamin Water has zero chance of overtaking Gatorade in the next 15 years. This really means nothing. The fact that it's a huge deal to the NFL just helps out Vitamin Water and doesn't hurt anyone else, except maybe Gatorade a little.

Before Vitamin water even gets a chance to sniff Gatorade's jock, they will either come out with their own vitamin waters (if they haven't already), or simply buy Vitamin Water.

This whole incident essentially means nothing, other than Vitamin Water guaranteed itself some solid publicity for the next week or so. Also, I assume that the NFL will not forget this incident, so there will be a bunch of barriers if they would ever seek to become the NFL's sponsor. I don't even consider it news.

The NFL's deal with Gatorade runs through 2012, so it would be a while before Vitamin Water could even potentially put in a bid. That said VW is at their max of 5 NFL players before they'd have to apply for a NFL Group License, they have no intention to do so and are content with their 5 players. They have other deals with 50 cent, Kelly Clarkson, David Wright, Kasey Kahne, etc.

They just signed Shaq to a deal and are releasing 32oz Shaq Vitamin Waters...

Gatorade - the Microsoft of the Sports Drink market, if your company is a threat they'll buy you. :D

__________________Magical sig by OSUGiants

SSAEL....... its a new revolution!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Job

On another note, Nicklas Backstrom is amazingly good.

Quote:

Meanwhile, in hockey the other night, the Washington Capitals' Eric Belanger gets hit with a stick, loses EIGHT teeth, has an instant root canal in the locker room, comes back out and PLAYS and never says boo.

So new rule, NBA: Unless you have a root canal at halftime, SHUT UP AND PLAY!

As a former owner of a marketing and advertising company I know these companies value their dollars, they put together strategic plans on how to spend money, how much to spend, etc. They want to make sure they're getting their money's worth and are getting exactly what they're supposed to get.

As a consumer, which Gatorade is with the NFL, would you be happy if you paid plasma screen prices for an old non-flat tube TV?

As a finance and marketing major who does work with multibillion dollar clientelle, I certainly understand this situation. Gatorade is paying a huge price for exclusivity, but the brand building and overall market share they get out of the NFL relationship makes it worth it. Their market share and continued dominance is based on brand image, excellent advertising, and some continued product development. This particular issue is not that significant. Gatorade's image is not hurt in the least. They still have their contract with the NFL, and they still have the brand image. VW did not steal their image or hurt them in any way. This was a small problem in their overall strategy. VW did not fight fair, but the NFL's fining Urlacher $100k for the violation made it a worthy piece of news. The NFL coming down so hard on Urlacher for wearing the hat is a testament to their commitment to Gatorade.

To correctly use the plasma TV analogy: This is the equivalent of you spending a lot on a plasma TV, only to have a tiny chip out of the screen. You call the customer service hotline, and they smooth out the error, then fine the line worker who caused the chip.

I love the so-called "outrage" about the amount of the fine, eventhough its the standard fine for such an incident at the Super Bowl as per NFL policy.

__________________Magical sig by OSUGiants

SSAEL....... its a new revolution!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Job

On another note, Nicklas Backstrom is amazingly good.

Quote:

Meanwhile, in hockey the other night, the Washington Capitals' Eric Belanger gets hit with a stick, loses EIGHT teeth, has an instant root canal in the locker room, comes back out and PLAYS and never says boo.

So new rule, NBA: Unless you have a root canal at halftime, SHUT UP AND PLAY!

The NFL's deal with Gatorade runs through 2012, so it would be a while before Vitamin Water could even potentially put in a bid. That said VW is at their max of 5 NFL players before they'd have to apply for a NFL Group License, they have no intention to do so and are content with their 5 players. They have other deals with 50 cent, Kelly Clarkson, David Wright, Kasey Kahne, etc.

They just signed Shaq to a deal and are releasing 32oz Shaq Vitamin Waters...

As a smaller competitor with lesser resources, Vitamin Water is deploying a similar strategy to Gatorade at a lower cost. They are targeting specific trend-setting celebrities to market themselves, which is a good way to go these days. They are seeking specific market segments and are getting results. It is a good strategy for them to increase their customer base. Gatorade spends so much on their advertising and sponsorships specifically to stay ahead of their competitors. It's the same with Coke, Microsoft, Tide, Colgate, Lays, McDonalds, etc.

Meanwhile, in hockey the other night, the Washington Capitals' Eric Belanger gets hit with a stick, loses EIGHT teeth, has an instant root canal in the locker room, comes back out and PLAYS and never says boo.

So new rule, NBA: Unless you have a root canal at halftime, SHUT UP AND PLAY!

Vitamin water has gotten more pub than they ever dreamed with Urlacher wearing that hat. Before it was just a quick shot of their name on his head.... Now their name is being talked about all over the radio for the fine that was dished out.

Urlacher wont pay one cent of that fine. That check will be wrote out by the CEO of Vitamin water.

As a smaller competitor with lesser resources, Vitamin Water is deploying a similar strategy to Gatorade at a lower cost. They are targeting specific trend-setting celebrities to market themselves, which is a good way to go these days. They are seeking specific market segments and are getting results. It is a good strategy for them to increase their customer base. Gatorade spends so much on their advertising and sponsorships specifically to stay ahead of their competitors. It's the same with Coke, Microsoft, Tide, Colgate, Lays, McDonalds, etc.

I love Vitamin Water's model when it comes to aligning itself with celebrities/athletes. Gatorade is paying $61m a year to be the official sports drink of the NFL, but still if Gatorade wants to use Peyton Manning in spots they have to have a separate endorsement deal with him.

I haven't seen any studies, or begun to think about it, but I think it would be more valuable to a company to be tied to a star athlete, use him with promotional materials than to be the official drink of the league.

Vitamin Water has signed several star athletes in large markets (Urlacher/Chicago, Ortiz/Boston, Wright/NY, McNabb/Philly).

What's awesome, in my opinion, about VW's model is that they don't just pay a guy money to endorse a product, they give him ownership in the company. Normal endorsement deals a player likely doesn't care if the company is successful or not, he's getting his money no matter what. With VW's deals it is in the player's best interest that the company is as successful and profitable as possible.

The NFL system is very screwy, I'm not sure how it works with non-beer companies, but there is "The Official Beer Sponsor of the NFL", "The Official Beer Sponsor of the Super Bowl", and then each team has the rights to go out and get their own beer sponsor. In theory the NFL could have Coors Light as the official beer sponsor, the Super Bowl could have Miller Lite, and then all 32 teams could have Bud.

VW is employing a very new-school method to marketing. They are building their brand by aligning with popular icons that have broad appeal. They have little chance of unseating Gatorade as the market leader, but they can carve out their niche this way by efficiently using their promotional dollars. I was unaware of the ownership piece, but that is a brilliant way to get things done and build a lifetime relationship with the icon. Guys like Urlacher, Ortiz, and Wright are going to have lifetime appeal. Amazing stuff.

That being said, the big boys spend so much on advertising, that they virtually blanket all forms of media with their logo ads, etc. I believe I read a study in 2004 that children are able to recognize the McDonalds golden arches and the Mickey Mouse symbol as early as age 2. They literally associate the logo with the product and ask for it. That is just incredible...

VW is employing a very new-school method to marketing. They are building their brand by aligning with popular icons that have broad appeal. They have little chance of unseating Gatorade as the market leader, but they can carve out their niche this way by efficiently using their promotional dollars. I was unaware of the ownership piece, but that is a brilliant way to get things done and build a lifetime relationship with the icon. Guys like Urlacher, Ortiz, and Wright are going to have lifetime appeal. Amazing stuff.

Also, as a side note Gatorade's value in being the official drink of the NFL and having all their crap on the sidelines isn't within the company. They're not going to get more drinkers because of it, what their value is to not give a competitor a foot in the door.

Previously Powerade and All-Sport conceded the NFL market to Gatorade for the most part, now Vitamin Water is making a huge push. Vitamin Water right now is maxed out at 5 players in the NFL thanks to the PA's group licensing rules, they claim they're not interested in more than that, but I think if they're successful over the next year or so they'll likely go ahead and get a deal with the PA for group licensing and sign more guys.

As VW experiences an increase in brand awareness and brand equity, they will have better sales and revenues, which they can then funnel back into their marketing with the group licenses. Building a brand is very difficult. It is possible that VW could be ramping up to challenge Gatorade for the NFL in 2012...

As VW experiences an increase in brand awareness and brand equity, they will have better sales and revenues, which they can then funnel back into their marketing with the group licenses. Building a brand is very difficult. It is possible that VW could be ramping up to challenge Gatorade for the NFL in 2012...

I have no inside knowledge of VW's future plans, but I don't foresee them trying to overtake Gatorade's hold on the NFL. I just don't think it is that valuable of a deal to anyone. By then you'll have to pay well over $100m a year, is it worth it for Vitamin Water, or should they do a deal with the NFLPA and just use 20 players or so to endorse their product for a fraction of the cost?

I don't think a blanket sponsorship and its other costs (buying ad time, providing free or discounted beverages to the league, protecting your sponsorship) is really in the best interests of VW. It would be better for them to use 10-15 trend-setting, transcendent athletes from a league for 30% of the cost and get the same benefits.